Treatment
by Mizayo
Summary: As a mission to an alien planet goes awry, a certain crewmember, Ensign Nick Valentine, starts to develop some strange symptoms. Vorik/OC Rated M for language and M/M sexytimes.


There are very few people in the galaxy that can make you feel happy just by being around them. They are usually the kind of people who are sitting not in the very corner of the room, but not in the center either. They can have as many as ten or eleven people around them, or as little as one, but you know just by looking in their direction that they are having a good time. They're not shallow - but neither are they deep - and the only things that really get their attention are the things that are important to a lot of people. With a demeanor such as that, they allow any kind of person to imprint something dear onto them, and it creates an air of comfort. A sort of soft understanding that not many other people can share. They are impressionable people - the kind of people who can get really into another person's life without ever truly entering it.

Being that very type of person, stranded millions of light-years from home - with the same people every day - can get a little under your skin. It wasn't as if Ensign Valentine was getting bored of the people - in fact, he found himself getting to truly know them - but that was the scary part. He was perfectly fine being the kind of guy you can come and talk to if you need to, but becoming that thing talked about - and genuinely caring about those people - was not something he was used to. He was _half vulcan_ for fuck's sake; it wasn't as if he had a bunch of friends.

Despite not knowing much about his vulcan heritage, Nick Valentine had always been treated as if he didn't belong on Earth. He was human by all standards but his own biology, and frankly being treated as one of those computer-generated hobgoblins was a bit of an insult. Everyone looked up at him as if he already looked down upon them, and he blamed every vulcan to ever impress upon those people. He was no different than any of them - well, beside the fact that he looked like an elf. But because of these treatments, Nick never really got close to anyone, human or otherwise, and was constantly under the impression that either he was standoffish or weak.

Eventually people started to accept him for who he was rather than what he looked like, but that acceptance never went farther than a small talk here, a quick look there, and generally just a polite stranger. That's when he joined Starfleet. He knew that no matter what he looked like, no matter how his internal organs were positioned, or what color his blood was - he would be accepted. He was just another eager ensign in Starfleet, rather than a computer hybrid. And when his first posting on Voyager when awry, all he could think was that it didn't matter, because was indeed just another eager ensign, and not someone to miss.

After four years aboard the stranded ship, however, Nick started to actually integrate into peoples' lives. It was strange at first, being counted as another's friend, but he warmed up to the idea enough to not show any fear anymore. Of course he wasn't much of an insider, in any of his 'friends' groups, but he was the sort they would come to talk with over something. He was like Neelix, to be honest, though he imagined he was favored by the more conservative, dry crewmembers rather than the ones who put up with the talaxian. And he was far less intrusive - more of a listener than an advisor.

Though that's not to say that people didn't like or respect him - indeed he was very well liked. He was the kind of person who you usually left alone because you thought he would like to be left alone, not because you'd rather be with someone else. He was kind and easy to get along with. He was handsome as well, with the vulcan-black hair tousled to the side and sweeping gently over strong, sky blue eyes. His jaw stood out - strong and angular - and gave off a vibe of pride. And if you were to stay in his presence long enough to give him his own time to speak, he was also quite the charmer. Flashing a crooked smile and lowering his eyes, he could give off the impression of handsome shyness, or even a flirtatious side.

But people barely ever allowed him his own time - finding him only when they needed his help, or an ear to listen. It wasn't a difficult social station, but it did tend to get... frustrating. He happily got to know the crew when none knew a thing about him, and he was content to keep it that way. There were an abstract few - a few quite similar to himself - who genuinely cared for him, however, and he considered them to be his true friends. A couple scattered ensigns who let him talk to them, or a 'citizen' of first contact who held a long conversation with him about his own origins. But, in all the crew of Voyager, he only had one true friend. A friend he could talk to on a daily basis, a friend who joked and laughed and cried and fought with him. A friend who would go to the holodeck with him when they both were off duty and play through an old Terran mystery, or hung out with him at some Risian beach.

Her name was M'Rani. She was an ensign, like him, and the only caitian aboard the ship. She too was the target of prejudices, as caitians were generally treated as if they were too wild to contend with. It was only the rough exterior of a poorly constructed view. However, as with many stereotypes, there was a small truth to the general meaning. M'Rani was, indeed, quite a feisty little thing with her own views on all the goings-on and whatnots. She knew just about anything and everything that was happening at the time, and was Nick's main source of information, other than that of what others would confide in him. She joked and pranked and cackled her way through most situations, and the ones that couldn't be solved with some quick wit soon became the target of a terrible temper. Generally, she was easy-going and funny, but sometimes she had the tendency to become a bit of a klingon general. A klingon general that had just went on a journey through a Dominion prison camp and Candyland hybrid. It wasn't very pretty to say the least.

As both of the ensigns were very close friends and worked together throughout their whole training on ancient alien space travel in the Academy, it wasn't very often that the two got split up for a job. And it was even less common that either one of them went on an away mission, so the whole circumstances of the past briefing were very strange to say the least.

"Tell me again why you have to go on such a weird little adventure?" M'Rani inquired, sitting across the table in the mess hall. It was fairly crowded that morning, and M'Rani tried her very hardest not to raise her voice above what was needed, though she felt as if she needed to shout. They had planned for several weeks to finally find time to get off work and reserve the same holodeck for a couple hours, as they both were getting notably stressed and needed a little vacation on some snowy andorian moon. But this little trip was going to tear that time into little bits and M'Rani wasn't the least bit happy. "And what's with only having ensigns? I thought that most away missions were led by someone pretty far up - sometimes even the captain!" The end of her sentence came to a slight screech of annoyance, but she let out a breath and forced herself to calm down.

"The mission isn't nearly as important as the ones where the captain goes," Nick smirked, watching his friend as she desperately tried to breathe steadily. "As for just ensigns, I'm not quite sure of that myself. It's hardly dangerous, but you're right - a CO usually comes with us. Maybe it's just coincidence," he shrugged, taking a sip of water.

"_Coincidence_? You imply that the only reason they pick people higher up is because of their expertise?" M'Rani snorted, glancing away from her friend before yawning abruptly, her mouth stretching far beyond any other humanoid Nick had seen, her fiercely pointed teeth being shown in full force. The actual sound was more of a growl than a yawn, but the end squeaked as if she had run out of breath. A yawning caitian was sometimes a frightening experience for some people, but Nick had gotten so used to his friend that it barely registered as an action. She turned back to him, smacking her lips as if to get rid of an unpleasant feeling. "I mean, if that were true than there would be a lot more ensigns going on away missions all the time."

Nick smirked, looking around the room. "It sure would serve to get some more promotions," he said quietly before turning back to her. "Maybe they send the COs on missions that are important for the safety of the crew, or a specific mission. Like they have to have someone more reliable, or experienced for the mission." He paused, taking a deep breath and playing with the rings of water on the table left from his drink. "This mission is neither important nor dangerous. We simply need some data from a previously crashed ship. We've scanned the wreckage. We know it's old - very old - and we are pretty sure they crashed because of personal reasons. Going to the planet shouldn't be risky at all. We're only going down for a few hours then coming right back up with the data. It shouldn't be difficult, and it's a fairly small mission."

M'Rani crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, scoffing. "And those few hours just happen to be right at the same time and day that we planned out vacation," she muttered angrily, not meeting his eyes. A few moments passed as Nick allowed her time to fume. Finally, she looked back up at Nick with her bright green cat-like eyes, and the sudden contact took Nick slightly unawares. He recovered quickly, however, and she continued. "Who all's going with you anyhow? I mean, there are tons of ensigns on board. Who'd they deem _necessary_ to accompany you?"

Nick shifted in his seat, the question reminding him of who exactly he had to _contend_ with for a few hours. "Well, Ensign Braal is coming to pilot since none of the rest of us have been very successful in that field," he trailed off the end, blushing a slight green. "Ensign Dunham has requested to come and study the actual planet since he's never seen plant life like the ones down there." He paused, and looked more than a little irritated at the next, "And Ensign Vorik has been called down to take a look at the systems of the ship and see if they could be any use to us. And I'm just there to study the rest. Where it came from, how old it is, what type it is, and so on."

M'Rani looked almost sympathetic. "I can see why you aren't as excited as you should be. Poor little guy doesn't want to spend time with his own kind," she half teased, making a pouty face at him. He grunted disapprovingly before looked away from her and out the window. "Oh, come on, I was just kidding. You know that." When there was no reaction, she grabbed onto the sleeve of his wrist, careful not to touch skin and especially not to touch his hand. She learned very early on what kind of awkward situations that could get her into. She squeezed his arm, making him turn back to her. "I'm sorry. You know I was just playing with you. I know you haven't had the best of luck with your heritage. I shouldn't've poked fun."

His eyes warmed ever so slightly at her apology. "They are not my heritage. I was born and raised on Earth. I'm human, despite what others may think. Just because my mother was another species does not mean that I am as well. Her death made sure that I was to never be anything close to what a vulcan would be like, and I'm perfectly content with that," he nodded, seeming to put an end to the conversation like that. But then he went on, "I know what you're thinking, and I promise I won't be unfair to the guy. I just won't be... happy about it."

M'Rani smirked, taking her hand from his arm and leaning in the chair once again. "I doubt he'll be _happy_ either," she purred, that twinkle of subtle wit in her eyes.

It took a minute before Nick was able to figure his friend out, but when he did, he gave a short laugh and turned towards the rest of the mess hall. "Oh, funny. Very witty indeed," he said sarcastically, getting up and heading towards the doors before turning back to her and raising his eyebrow in a very vulcan way. He probably didn't realize this, but he was completely vulcan in more ways than one.

M'Rani sat quietly, thinking on this. "I thought so," she murmured before getting up and leaving as well.

* * *

You know, come to think of it, a lot of Voyager's crew make pretty shitty predictions. It's as if every time they need to go on an away mission, they say that nothing bad should happen - and yet that very thing usually does. Take this mission, for example. Fact number one: There was a slight distortion field in the planet's atmosphere, so they had to take a shuttle because the transporter wouldn't work. Fact number two: The crew reasoned that the field was what caused the other ship to crash. But of course that shouldn't happen to their own shuttle because it was far more advanced. Fact number three: Due to the strange field around the planet, their shuttle crashed. Go figure.

Normally such an obstacle wouldn't be such a big deal. Sure, they've crashed plenty of times - more than they could count, actually - but the fact of the matter was that one of the crew, Ensign Lorika Braal, died in the crash. Dunham, being the closest thing they had to a doctor, figured it had to have been a power surge in her console that zapped the poor bolian dead. After that, the team waited for a couple hours and there were no signs of Voyager. Their comms didn't work, and their shuttle's systems were damaged enough that there would have to be some extensive repairs before even the smaller systems would be back online. After a day, Ensign Dunham couldn't help himself to some research of the native plant life. That was the reason he was there to begin with, so what was the harm in continuing with his goal? I'll tell you what - they hadn't seen him since.

And if that wasn't a bad enough situation by itself, it had been at least a month since the whole thing started. Nick was a patient kind of guy, but honestly, it was getting very difficult to put up with his fellow crewmember. He had even gone so far as to think about trying to go out and get lost along with Dunham. But no, the poor vulcan needed help with repairs and the whole reason Nick was on the mission to begin with was because he had trained in ancient starships during his time at the Academy, and dammit if he wasn't going to help get back to Voyager - and away from this vulcan.

"Ensign Valentine, it is imperative that I get the food replicators online. With Ensign Dunham missing, we have no way of knowing if the local plant life is edible," Vorik deadpanned, looking almost irritated. He turned to grab another tool from the seat beside him and continued his work beneath the food replicator. "Furthermore, I would like to request your presence cease for the time being while I endeavor to concentrate on the task at hand."

Nick boiled. Two months he had been with this - _two months_! If there was a prize for patience, he was sure to win first place. Grumbling to himself, Nick shoved the seat with the tools on it as he got up furiously, the blood rushing to his head. He ignored it, stomping angrily out of the shuttle and over to where they had set up camp. It was a fairly nice camp, to be honest, though they did have two months to work on it. They were surrounded by a dense forest of bluish green trees and dark red bushes. The grass was almost a light grey, though where they were encamped had no grass. It was a rich, reddish dirt, almost like a sort of clay, and they had been able to set up a fire pit and seating. Two tents were placed next to each other, the third having been torn down to make the others bigger long ago. The temperature was almost always consistent, the days being a comfortable vulcan-like warm, while the nights were quite a bit colder than Earth.

After only a few moments, Nick could hear the unforgettable sound of Vorik walking quite briskly out of the shuttle and towards him. He sighed, getting ready for another speech about how illogical he was being. Vorik didn't sit beside him, but stood a good distance away, as if he didn't want to get any closer than necessary. "I seemed to have upset you," he said calmly, as if it was a normal thing for him to say. But Nick was dumbstruck. Never once had the vulcan acknowledged his emotions, as though he disapproved of them. Come to think of it, he probably did. Disapproval wasn't an emotion, was it?

Nick sighed, shaking off the uneasy feeling of actually being cared about by this guy. It was weird, to say the least. "No..." he started, running his hands over his eyes in a show of frustration. He tried desperately to find the right words. "I just... I'm not very good at dealing with vulcans," he admitted, locking his eyes onto the floor.

There was a moment of what he could only guess was confusion. "But you are vulcan, correct?" Nick was right - he sounded utterly lost.

"No, I'm not actually." There was a moment of silence, prompting him to explain himself further. Nick looked up into the vulcan's dark brown eyes before dragging them back towards the fire pit. "My mother was a vulcan and lived on Earth with my dad. She died giving birth to me, though, and my dad raised me all himself. I was around a lot of his family growing up. Y'know, close cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents... But I never went to vulcan. My dad offered to take me, to meet my mother's family and maybe even learn some of that creepy emotional suppression shit. I told him that I never wanted to go there. Vulcans were the reason why none of the kids at school wanted to play with me. Their impression on our society was the reason for my shitty childhood. So no, I didn't want to go learn to be like them. I wanted to be as human as I possibly could - celebrating Christmas, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day! Being an emotional volcano was just something that I never wanted to be rid of. And then I joined Starfleet, thinking that I would be more excepted there... and now here I am - being trapped on an uncharted planet where half of the crew has died or gotten lost, and with a vulcan no less! So yeah, you could say I'm a bit frustrated," Nick seethed the last two sentences, running the words together and forgetting completely who it was he was talking to before swinging his head around to meet a young vulcan ensign with an eyebrow raised. Nick cleared his throat, his cheeks turning green. "_Ehm_. Sorry. I know you're just doing your job, I shouldn't blame you for my bad childhood," he said softly, not meeting the vulcan's eyes.

There was a moment of silence before a soft, "You did not offend me. I was merely... intrigued by your story. I apologize if I have made you more frustrated than necessary," he said slowly, as if finding each appropriate word individually before speaking them. His eyebrow returned to its normal position before he turned around and headed back towards the shuttle to continue his repairs.

Another month goes by after that, and the tensions between the two officers eases. Slowly they become more comfortable around each other and soon after start to develop a sort of understanding. They were nowhere near a friendship yet, but they were to the point where they no longer became overly frustrated by one another, and truly that's all they could ask for at the time. Though about halfway through the third month is when Nick started to develop some... strange... symptoms.

At first it was hardly something to complain about. A little flash of warmth in his cheeks and chest here and there, almost as if he were embarrassed. Even if he wasn't. Then there was a bit of lightheadedness, but it usually passed quite quickly and hardly kept him from his work. After a couple days, however, the bouts of heat and dizziness increased and they wouldn't go away for hours. After a week passed, Vorik had decided that Nick was no longer able to keep working in his condition. At first, Nick disagreed completely, but another episode stopped him and he agreed to sit down for a couple hours.

Two more weeks and it was a definite illness. There was no more excusing such strange bouts to just a lack of sleep or some sort of cold. He was genuinely ill now, and Vorik was at a loss for what to do. He was nowhere near a doctor, except when it came to a ship's welfare, and he was concerned that he would make the illness worse if he were to try and treat it. Nick, who had decided to sit out from the camp against a cool grey-blue stone, came out of his headache enough to notice the anxious vulcan was headed his way again. Well, not anxious per se, just... Well, Nick didn't know what the vulcan was. But he sure looked concerned, emotions or not. "What are you experiencing right now?" he said as he drew near.

It had been a while since Vorik had truly come close to check on him, and the proximity made him unjustly nervous. He shifted, drawing himself closer to the coolness of the stone and away from his crewmate. He took in a shaky breath, trying to clear his mind enough to give a fair count of his symptoms at the moment. "Lightheadedness," he said slowly, trying to get the words out right. "Overwhelming... warmth. Fast heart rate," he paused again, shivering despite the heat. "Queasiness." Another struggled pause. "Emotional frustration," he said slowly, not fully realizing he had it until he spoke it out loud. Had he been frustrated lately? Other than being annoyed by his vulcan companion, he'd been fairly calm despite the circumstances. Though, as he sat there, curled up against the stone like a child to its mother, he realized that he had been extremely emotionally conflicted for the past couple of days. It was as if his own mind was warring with itself, but he was too lost in its dizziness to actually notice.

Vorik looked slightly puzzled, his eyebrow arching. "There are new symptoms. Why did you not inform me sooner?"

The hybrid shook his head, turning away from the disturbing presence of the vulcan and shivering again. "I didn't want to talk to you," he whispered, a strange coiling building in his stomach. It was almost as if he would vomit, but he didn't feel the insisting urge in his throat. His head pounded as another wave of heat washed over him, shivering again. "I'm scared," he squeaked, his emotional frailty showing through.

Vorik had no idea what to do. His crewmate was in clear distress, but the poor vulcan had no clue as to why or how he could help. Perplexed as he was, he kept his composure and stood his ground, looking down at the ill man. "Is there anything I could do to make you more comfortable?" he inquired, hoping desperately that there was so that he could let his concerns rest and get back to work.

Unfortunately, Nick shook his head, wincing as it felt like he was banging his brain against the sides of his skull. "Just..." he whispered, not trusting his voice. "Go away. You're making me nervous," he admitted, not looking at the vulcan. There was a long, unending pause before he heard his crewmate turn around and walk back towards the shuttle. A sigh escaped Nick, and the tension he felt in his stomach was suddenly released.

The shock of realization hit him like a borg cube. Suddenly everything made sense. He had been warned when he was a child, by his father. Of course he knew almost nothing about the condition as it was a sort of top secret thing. Very private. And his father had not had any first-hand experience, he had told Nick, because the females didn't go through it. Nick had argued and argued about it all through the process, saying that if it affected vulcans then it wasn't a concern of his. But his father pushed on, telling him that whether or not he was vulcan in any other way, he was indeed in the body of one, and that body would go through some things that he might not be able to avoid. Of course it could never happen as well, but his father had insisted that he at least get a little information on it for just-in-case scenarios.

But this couldn't be what he thought it was. Normally vulcans didn't go through it until they were at least in their fifties (which, in all fairness was pretty young for a vulcan), but Nick was only thirty-nine. He was barely considered an adult! He hunched over in pain as a wave of heat descended on him again. Was this really what it was like? The way it had been explained to him was that vulcans feared it because it stripped away their logic. But he didn't depend on his logic, so that shouldn't have mattered. No one told him how excruciating the heat was. It was as if he was being consumed by fire, like he was being cooked from the inside out. His head pounded again as a sort of rage filled his mind, tearing at it until he had stood up and started thrashing around. He picked up a rather largish rock and trew it at his stone wall, smashing it into small pieces. Then he sank back to the ground, tears forming in his eyes. They felt like ice as they ran down his cheeks, and soon he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

He woke later to the sound of a tricorder. It was near. He shifted, the light of the sun blinding him through the trees. When his eyes finally adjusted, he noticed Vorik crouched quite near him, a tricorder held in his extended hand. The heat had ebbed slightly, but his mind was groggy at best and it took him quite a while to notice when that strange twisting in his stomach had returned. He could barely make out the words coming from the vulcan next to him. "...extreme chemical imbalance, Ensign Valentine. Are you feeling any better?" The concern from a couple days ago was gone, replaced by a calmness that shook Nick to the bone. Why was his crewmate so gathered while he obviously was falling apart? It was incredibly rude. He told Vorik this. An eyebrow shot up, and finally his dark eyes locked onto Nick's blue ones, and the silence he had interpreted as calm was now shown in its true form - a fear. His little vulcan was scared for him? How sweet.

As Vorik readied himself to stand, Nick's hand shot out and grabbed his clothed wrist. The vulcan was surprised for a moment, but slowly complied to the silent request and sat down next to the hybrid. At this sign of submission, however incidental, another stirring in his stomach started up, but this time it slowly worked itself lower until Nick had to gasp. What? The last bit of his sanity was dumbfounded. Vorik? Why him? Maybe it was the long-suppressed logical part of his mind telling him that another vulcan was likely the best thing he could get right now. Or maybe it was that he was familiar, and around the same age. Or is could have been simply because he was there. Either way, that stirring below his stomach turned ever so slowly into a desire, and in his state of mind it was hardly a thing he could fight.

Slowly, he let his grip on the vulcan's wrist lighten and he allowed his hand to gently slide down to the other's hand, and a wave of shock shot through him at the sudden mental contact as well as the sensitivity to his hands. He looked up at Vorik's eyes and noticed they were slightly wider than normal, and were trained on where their hands met. His lack of reaction other than that, however, left Nick slightly disappointed and he let his hand drop back to the ground, ignoring the hitch in his breath and the spike of pleasure as his fingers slid the rest of the way down the vulcan's hand. He looked away then, not allowing himself to indulge in the sight of his crewmate.

However, despite Vorik's show of surprise, he stood up with the ease and grace of someone totally unaffected. Suddenly a sharp anger flashed through Nick at this, and he shot up to his feet as well, shocking the vulcan when he flung his arms towards him and pushed him to the ground. Vorik went flying, sliding a bit when his back hit the dark red dirt. "_Mph_," he grunted at the impact, but then flung his hands up to block an incoming attack from the hybrid. He pushed as the other landed on the hands, sending him flying back and tumbling to the side. Nick got back up, unaffected, and began to throw violent, erratic punches at Vorik. He was able to block all of them easily, however, and that only served to anger the hybrid more. He flung himself atop the vulcan, clawing at his face with a sheer force of anger that he had no idea where it came from.

Suddenly Vorik shifted below him, trying to move away and better block the attacks, but he ended up shifting in a way that had Nick stop dead in his tracks. He was leaning over the vulcan now, his arms on either wrist, effectively pinning him to the ground. Vorik shifted again, trying to get out of the madman's grasp, but it rubbed in a place that had Nick sucking in a wild breath. His eyes calmed as the anger depleted from him, replaced by an uncertainty that was slowly filling with lust. He locked eyes with the vulcan for a while, then moved his hands in a way that allowed him to still pin his crewmate, but allowed him to run two fingers along the palms of his prisoner.

Vorik immediately responded, shivering violently as the sharp pleasure shot through him. His eyes widened at the prolonged mental contact. Even while he could not have been so blind to have not seen it before now, he could also feel it - the fever that his captor had been going through. What was making him act this way? Another stroke of fingers against his made him close his eyes as another, smaller, shiver shook his body. When he spoke, his voice was slightly raw and low, surprising himself, "_Pon farr_."

Nick could do nothing else but nod, moving down slightly to bring his face closer to his crewmate's. It was strange, the new world of senses opening up to him. It was as if he was a whole new species - he could hear every breath that Vorik took with extreme clarity. He could feel every place they were touching, even through the think fabric of their uniforms. He could smell the vulcan, for fuck's sake! What was that, anyway? He'd never smelt anything like it before. It was a sort of... mixture... of the planet's natural smell, sweat, and a tiny pinch of something strangely... _clean_. It was as if the vulcan had his own air of cleanliness about him, though they had scarcely had enough water for them to bathe in the past four months. It was refreshing and quite arousing to say the least.

The look Vorik gave him as he eyed him like prey was almost... anxious. But of course vulcans didn't have emotions. Or at least didn't experience them, right? "Ensign Valentine, I am not incompetent. I realize the amount of stress you are going through, but I assure you that we will contact Voyager in time for you to see the doctor," he said lowly, as if it hurt to speak any louder.

Nick's eyes flashed over Vorik's face then down his chest and back, as if sizing him up. "Then what, Vorik? What can the doctor do for me in another couple months that you can't do for me right now?" he purred, dragging his fingers along Vorik's again, gaining a gasp of both pleasure and a sudden realization.

"You intend to mate with _me_?" he asked, his voice nearly to the point of squeaking. It was so unlike the vulcan that Nick nearly lost his control right then and there. But instead he nodded slowly, answering his question silently as he felt he was losing the ability for coherent speech. Vorik looked almost shocked, but he marched on, trying again to free his hands as another stroke sent him into a fit. "Mating with me is highly illogical. I am male."

"So?"

Vorik sighed, as if it pained him to explain further. "The bonding of two males has no purpose. There is no benefit to our coupling," he explained through puffs of air. Fingers continued to stroke his hands and it was as if he himself was losing control. He had never been so thoroughly stimulated before, and it was catching up to him.

Finally, Nick got too impatient and leaned over to nuzzle at Vorik's neck. The surprised gasp that came from the action only spurred him on further, and he began to place soft kisses along the delicate throat of his prisoner. Gently bringing his kisses upward, he licked a trail up the pointy ear and earned a quiet, almost inaudible moan from the vulcan. He smirked. So this was not going to be so hard after all.

Nick began to trail his right hand farther down Vorik's own, earning another gasp. He tugged the didgets upward, and placed them inches from his own lips. Looking down at the hand's owner, he was delighted to find the poor vulcan was staring at him in shock, his brown eyes wide with wonder. Nick kissed the tips of the fingers, noting the shiver that passed through Vorik's arm and down his body. He slid his tongue along the underside of the fingers, causing a moan to escape the vulcan's lips. The sound did wonders to his own arousal and he took the fingers fully into his mouth, running his tongue along them again and applying suction. This time Vorik moaned loudly, involuntarily bucking his hips upwards at the sensation.

The sedated desire that had plagued Nick for the past month then flared uncontrollably. He dropped the hand, bringing himself down upon the vulcan and kissing him fiercely. Vorik seemed at a loss, not having experienced a human kiss before. He began to move his lips against Nick's, unsure if he was doing it correctly. At the responding moan, he guessed he was. Nick began to fumble with Vorik's uniform, trying desperately to get it off before he had to start tearing at it. He was unable to work off the suit and ended up tearing it anyway, much to the distress of the vulcan. It ripped right down the seam, however, and allowed easy access to the rest of Vorik's underclothing.

Vorik began to put Nick through the same treatment, getting frustrated with his clothing however unwilling to tear it open. Nick did this himself, and soon after allowed the glorious skin-to-skin contact to wash over his mind as he leaned down to passionately kiss Vorik once again before completely loosing his awareness and blacking out.

When Nick awoke later, his mind felt too groggy to remember anything other than he felt perfectly fine in all the other facilities. He didn't remember much else than pinning Vorik to the ground, however, and suddenly felt a blush at the thought. Had he really lost control that much? He hoped that he hadn't hurt the poor son of a bitch too much, though from what he remembered it wasn't so much a fight rather than a small struggle.

However as he became more aware of his surroundings, he felt the dirt, cooled by the night's temperature, against his naked back. Wait. Naked? He shifted then, realizing that he was perfectly nude in the middle of their little clearing. As he shifted, however, he felt the terribly pealing of sweaty skin against skin, and realized with a shock that he was cuddled up against the side of his crewmate. He was momentarily stunned as he remembered some of the last night's events. He had...? With Vorik? Groaning, he shifted again and managed to untangle himself from the vulcan's grasp.

As he got ready to sit up, he felt a pain spike through him at different spots. A quick once over led him to learn that he had in fact gained some mangled bruises all over his body. He looked over to Vorik, a sense of dread sitting over him as he realized he had done even worse to his partner. _Partner..._ he wondered in awe. _How...?_ He muffled another groan as Vorik shifted in the dirt, revealing his back to Nick. There were not only bruises there too, but bright green claw marks all down his back and partially over his ass. _God, what have I done?_ he whined internally.

A quick beeping made him jump out of his skin, looking around worriedly. What was that? It beeped again and it sounded all too familiar. A communicator! He jumped up, scrambling to the shuttle and answering it quickly. "Ensign Valentine here!" he shrieked, overcome with joy and momentarily forgetting the night before. However the cool air of the night reminded him that he was stark naked, and he shivered despite himself.

It was the captain's voice. "Ensign! You've been down there for far too long. What's going on?" she asked, as if she were slightly annoyed.

_Too long?_ Of course they'd been down there too long! It had been months since he'd seen the ship, and all she could say was that it had been too long? "Captain, it's been months! Was there any danger up there? We thought you had been chased away or something," he said, trying to keep his professionalism but failing.

"Months?" she said as if she didn't believe it. There was a long pause, then, "We can talk about that once we get you all up here. Have there been any troubles?"

Nick paused, not sure how to answer that. Surely he didn't need to inform his captain, who was likely broadcasting this to the entire bridge, about his weird mating thing? "Captain, Ensign Braal died when we first crashed four months ago, and Dunham was lost shortly after. He's presumed dead as well. We haven't left the crash site for more than to bathe. It seems we landed in the middle of a jungle, and not near where the original crash site was," he said, trying again to find his professional voice. It worked - a little, at least.

The captain took a few moments to take all the information in before replying. "The distortion field has weakened quite a bit since you first left. We'll be able to beam you and Ensign Vorik out shortly."

Nick nodded, though he didn't know why - she couldn't see him. He ended the call only to find Vorik hovering over him, fully clothed (although the clothing was significantly ripped down the middle) and all professional. "Voyager has returned?" he inquired, seeming to not want to talk about the night before. Nick would be okay with that, though it was kind of hard not to think about it because one: he was still nude, and two: the sight of Vorik gave him the unwanted tingles in his stomach again.

"Uhm, yeah." He cleared his throat, looking up at Vorik through messy black hair. "Look, about last night..."

Vorik cut him off, the tips of his ears turning green. "The initial act was six days ago."

Nick couldn't help it - his jaw fell open. "_Six days?_" he squeaked, his own ears turning.

The vulcan nodded, almost sheepishly, before taking a step back and further into the shuttle. "You must get dressed for beam out. We can... talk about the predicament later."

Nick nodded numbly, heading back to the place where he had discarded his clothing. He picked the uniform up wearily, eyeing the damaged suit as if it had all of his deepest, darkest secrets in it. He shrugged on the ripped cloth before trudging back to the shuttle, already dreading the situation awaiting him later.

* * *

The first week back on Voyager was hardly the worst time in the world. Getting back to the normal routine and working his hours away undoubtedly helped keep Nick's mind off things. However, he noticed quickly that the topic he wanted to avoid at all costs wasn't at all hard to avoid. In fact, Vorik was nowhere to be seen. At first it had put Nick back into a sense of ease, and he allowed himself some time to lay back and think about what really happened down on the planet. It wasn't as if he had much of a choice. It was a natural biological function, human mindset or not. And if you really thought about it, if Vorik hadn't been there to... help him through it, Nick would most likely be dead. So really, the actions they had took were logical, right?

The consequences, however, were not so easily brushed off. Now, the two were hardly friends to begin with, so a ruined friendship was not something either of them was worried about. No, the thing Nick worried about (and undoubtedly Vorik too), was the simple fact of the bond. They hadn't initiated such a thing, to Nick's knowledge, but he had blacked out for most of the time, and there wasn't any way to have gotten over the Time without having done so. As he had learned it, a vulcan couldn't overcome the pon farr without having some sort of mental connection, and he knew he was well and truly over it, aside from some restless nights. So there had to be at least a small bit of a lingering mating bond between the two, but Nick hadn't gotten close enough to the vulcan to actually test it. Awkward as the situation may be, he needed to find out if they were married or not. It was kind of a big deal. Maybe if he were to get close enough –

"What're you thinking about?"

The shock of M'Rani's purred voice brought Nick out of his reverie. Had had completely forgotten where he was and what he was doing. Looking around at his surroundings, he instantly remembered that he was on the holodeck with his favorite cat lady. The soft lapping of water on the shore was what had initially taken his mind away from the present. Shaking his head softly and glancing at his friend's curious look, he chuckled softly. "Oh, it's nothing important. Just stuff that happened on the planet."

M'Rani scoffed playfully, nudging his arm with her own. "Oh, right. The place you got stuck on for months."

He turned to look at her sharply. "You know I was telling the truth. Tuvok proved the time distortion!"

His friend looked slightly shocked for a moment before turning back to the sea again. "I know that, silly. I was just joking again. You really need to lighten up." She paused, giving him a slow once-over. Concern showed in her eyes as she laid her hand on his shoulder. "Is there something going on? What exactly happened down there that's got you all riled up all the time?" Her voice was full of curiosity, but there was a significant undertone of worry. Had he really been so out of it lately?

Nick shook his head and gave her a reassuring smile. It didn't seem to help much. "It's nothing, really. Just..." he paused. "The death of Braal and Dunham, and then being trapped in a small area alone with _Vorik _for so long..." he trailed of, giving her a smirk as she realized he was avoiding the true subject.

She giggled and punched him lightly on the arm. "Valentine, if you can't tell me, who can you tell?" she said softly, her tone dropping again. She wasn't going to let him get away with this.

Nick groaned, flopping down hard into the sand of the beach, letting it cushion his back as he laid in it. "I... I'm vulcan. Whether or not I like it, I'm physically vulcan," he started, looking up into the sky. M'Rani leaned down next to him, her head propped up on her elbow as she looked at him. "There are some... things that vulcans go through that aren't discussed with outsiders. Luckily for you I'm not vulcan in any other way and could care less who knew about it." He stopped.

"Well?"

He sighed. "It's a mating drive. Apparently vulcans go through it every seven years. I got it for the first time down on that planet," he said slowly, not daring to look at her face. But she was silent. "And... the thing is... you either get it on, or you die. Chemical imbalance or whatever. Physical stuff." He paused again, waiting for a reply. There was none. "Your brain goes crazy and you feel like you're on fire. Like... You're cooking from the inside out. Your emotions go haywire and you feel as if you're literally about to explode," he ended, trailing off uncertainly.

There was another long pause. He got slightly worried at her lack of response and turned towards her, only to find her eyes wide and her jaw gone slack. He raised a very vulcan eyebrow at her, his earlier embarrassment forgotten. What was going on with her? And then... "You fucked Vorik!" Then she burst into loud, evil cackles.

Nick's face flushed bright green and he groaned again, letting his head fall back into the sand. "Shut up!" he shouted, feeling even more exposed than he did down on the planet. Then, at her incessant cackling, he started to giggle too. Soon, they were both laughing hysterically at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

"So what?" she gasped through her laughter. "Did you like..." she laughed. "tackle him or something? He can't have been too willing!" she said as she nearly rolled over him in her attempt to calm her own laughter. He looked at her a moment, taken aback at her question before laughing again.

"No!" He paused, his ears still dipped in green. "Well, sort of at first..."

Her eyes went wide. "What do you mean 'at first'? He got into it? Like, he liked it?" it was almost as if she thought it was the most preposterous thing she had ever heard. Though, she was always a bit of a drama queen. She sat up, her eyes still wide as she tried to repress another fit of giggles.

Without his knowing it, his eyes turned slightly dreamy as his own laughter turned into a stray chuckle or two. "Yeah, I guess. I kind of... blacked out. Sort of."

"Gods, was it that good?" she grinned wickedly. "I mean, I know he's pretty good-looking, but... to black out?" She paused, her grin turning into a sly smirk. "I know vulcans are pretty attractive, and strong... And I've heard they're pretty feisty between the sheets." She winked at him.

"Pssh! Who'd you hear that from? The Amazing Amanda herself?" he laughed.

She looked a little put off, though not enough to quiet her giggles. "_Tsk_. As if she'd spill the beans on that one. She's been around those computers too long, she's starting to actually like their customs. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's as human as they get, but she's too into her husband to _'disrespect his privacy like that'_," she mimicked in a pristine voice, pursing her lips and fluttering her eyelashes. Another fit of giggles and the original subject was almost forgotten. Almost. "So... You guys are, like, married now, right?"

At this, Nick jumped up and eyed her suspiciously before settling again. "I don't think so. We might have a bond, but that doesn't mean we have to start picking out names for our adopted ocampans."

M'Rani snorted. "Ocampan? I would have picked something a little longer-lasting."

"Oh, you know what I mean. We're not married. Just because vulcans mate for life doesn't mean that I'm going to." He shrugged, looking back into the sky again.

She was quiet for a while before leaning back and doing the same as him. "You might not, but Vorik's vulcan too, if you hadn't noticed. And he's got the emotional disciplines to prove it." At Nick's silent, confused expression, she continued on. "Nick, you might not follow the ways of vulcan mating, but Vorik does. You'll have to think about what Vorik wants too. He might feel the same as you, but you never know, he might just want to take you up on that 'mating for life' thing."

This was not something Nick had thought about. He wasn't truly vulcan, he knew that. But his... partner... was. Nick knew then that he needed to talk to the man, and soon.

Later that evening, after Nick knew both of their shifts had ended, he headed towards Vorik's quarters. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to say, or what his decision on how to proceed actually was, he just knew he had to talk about it. Somehow. He pressed the keypad next to the door, sending the beep throughout the whole room. Suddenly he was filled with anxiety. What if Vorik was angry with him? What if he was asleep? Meditating? Was Nick interrupting something extremely important? But then the door opened.

Vorik looked quite assembled, much to the relief of Nick. His uniform was either patched up or completely new, as Nick's own was, and his hair was tidy and washed, something neither or them had seen for quite some time since on the planet. His brown eyes looked almost completely steeled, though there was a small spark of questioning... of... hope? Or was it worry? Nick decided not to waste time on it. "Ensign Valentine?" questioned the vulcan as Nick stood, dumbfounded, in the doorway.

Nick tried to assemble himself quickly, scrambling around in his brain for something to say. "Um... Vorik, I think we need to talk."

There was a long pause, and Nick started to think Vorik might just disagree and kick in out, but instead he said, "Indeed," before stepping aside and allowing Nick to walk in. Nick had never seen the inside of anyone's quarters than M'Rani's, and that was only a couple of times. Instantly, the scientific side of his mind got completely engulfed in curiosity, and he started looking around the space frantically, trying to take in the young vulcan's belongings before he had to leave. "Are you... comfortable?" Vorik asked politely, noticing Nick's frantic movements.

Suddenly Nick got embarrassed, taking another glance before moving his eyes to Vorik's. "Ehm, sorry, I was just checking the place out. I barely get to see other peoples' quarters." _If you can't be honest with him about that, how could you be honest with him about the other things?_ Nick sat in a chair that Vorik motioned to, and cleared his throat after determining that Vorik obviously wasn't going to say anything. "I... wanted to ask you some things. About our time on the planet." Still no answer. Might as well dive right in. "Well, I know that I sort of... forced myself on you. Ehm. And though I would have died if you had... rejected me... I wanted to say that I am deeply sorry for my actions and hope that you might forgive me. Over the months before my... affliction... we had grown closer, and even been slightly friendly towards each other. I ask that we might forget about this whole episode and try to pick up from where we left off. Because, to be honest, I really do enjoy your company and I would like us to be friends," he said in a rush of breath, trying to get whatever he had to say out of the way and into the open air between them. The tension seemed only to rise, however.

Vorik still didn't say anything, only furrowing his brow slightly and looking away from Nick as if he was actually uncomfortable. Was he experiencing different emotions? Even Nick, half vulcan, could never tell. Finally, he started to speak. "It is true that your advances were unexpected," Nick cringed. "However, I see no reason to apologize for them. I too have experienced the pon farr." At this, Nick was genuinely surprised. Though, to be fair, Vorik was older than him. "However, I was not given such... treatment, as it were. I was forced to fight for my mate." He paused. "To fight my mate, for my mate." Nick sensed a story behind that.

"So... you're already married? Uh, I mean, bonded?" he corrected himself. A rush of relief and... disappointment hit him at the same time. _What was that about?_

Vorik shook his head. "I lost. The fight was enough to end my Time, but I was unable to bond with my mate. Now she is someone else's." Nick was about to apologize for his loss, but the vulcan kept talking. "However that is irrelevant. We must now discuss the bond we share. You have made it clear that you do not want it, and so we will endeavor to break it. However, that will also rid you of your want to befriend me, though I see little relevance in that now." His deep voice seem to vibrate in Nick's brain, making it difficult to concentrate on what he was actually saying.

"I thought that you wouldn't want it," he said softly, averting his gaze and reaching up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. "I thought that you wouldn't want to have a bond with me, since it was illogical."

At this Vorik seemed genuinely surprised. Then he remembered what he had said before and he looked right into Nick's wavering gaze. "It is indeed illogical for two men to bond. Especially on Voyager, which is likely to become a generational ship," he said, not taking a breath. "However I would not be opposed to keeping this bond. Or developing it further. If that is what you wish."

Nick's heart seemed to leap in his side. Had he really wanted to bond with Vorik this much? "I..." he breathed, trying to steady his mind. "I'd like that. If that's what you wanna do."

Vorik's eyes closed as if he was relieved as well, which only made Nick more excited. "Yes... Nicholas." In his expression, however unchanging, happiness shown through in his eyes. He extended two fingers toward Nick, offering a small vulcan kiss. Nick reached out as well, touching his own to Vorik's and sensing that small tingling run up his arm and into his heart. "That's new," he breathed, locking eyes with Vorik. "You'll have to teach me some more of this vulcan stuff."

Vorik lifted an eyebrow. "Indeed."

* * *

**A/N - Well! That was certainly something, wasn't it? It was definitely longer than what I normally write, that's for sure. I really wanted to write something about Vorik, but I didn't have the patience to continue with Little Pilot at the time, and... voilà! A long M/M oneshot. I didn't really expect this at all, to be honest. But I did indeed work on it quite a bit, so... Review? I don't usually ask, but it would be nice, _hehe_. ANYWAYS, hope you enjoyed this, and... Thanks for reading! **


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